Columbia River’s Bartek leads 3A girls golf at state

“I was thinking under par. If you want to be in this, you need to be under par,” Bartek said of her target for Tuesday. “I was hoping to be in the 60s, but it’s fine that I shot 70.”

Bartek had five birdies and two bogies. She birdied the par-4 second hole, the par-5 fifth and the par-3 seventh on the front nine. With a bogey on the par-3 third hole, she made the turn at 2-under.

On the back nine, Bartek had birdies on the par-6 12th and the par-4 14th. A bogey on the par-4 16th hole kept her from shooting a 69.

Bartek is thrilled to have a home-course advantage at Lewis River.

“I’m feeling pretty confident with my game right now,” Bartek said. “It definitely helps that it’s here. It’s a course that I know well and I’m comfortable with and I enjoy playing a lot.”

Bartek and Bezdicek will play as a twosome on Wednesday, teeing off last at 9:14 a.m. The first group tees off at 7:30 a.m.

Bezdicek, a junior who beat her sister Savana in a playoff to win the 2012 state title, was pleased that the worst of Tuesday’s rain held off until the first group of players was done.

“I felt pretty good,” Bezdicek said, admitting that conditions are rarely this wet in Spokane. “I could hit my drives in the fairway and I made my putts when I needed to, the birdie putts. I could have made a few more par putts, but I’m pretty happy with my round.”

Seven girls shot better than 80. Taylor Kain-Godoy of Hanford, who played in the first foursome with Bartek and Bezdicek, shot a 2-over par 75 and sits in third place.

Tuesday’s top 40 golfers — those who shot 95 or better — return for Wednesday’s final round.

Three of the six Mountain View golfers in the field advanced. Clarisa Witherup of Mountain View shot an 84 on Tuesday, Rachel Kim shot 92 and Abby Kadrmas came in with a 95.

Bridget Standard of Fort Vancouver shot 88, and Jamie Stilwell of Prairie came in at 89, giving Clark County six golfers among the final-day 40.

Standard, a freshman, said Tuesday’s round was probably the best she has played in seven times at Lewis River.

“The score might not be better, but I was more proud of myself this time than last time,” she said.

Stilwell, who entered with a top-12 qualifying score, admitted the pressure got to her.

“Last year I was ranked about 50th and I made it to the second day, so I was happy,” Stilwell said. “Today there was a lot of pressure — I put the pressure on myself.”

Stilwell said she hoped that a night of sleep — she could not sleep Monday night — would make for a better second day.

“I know I can do better on this course,” Stilwell said. “I love this course.”

So does Bartek, who would be thrilled to cap her high school career as a state champion.

“Lots of birdies. That’s what I’m going for,” she said. “We’ll have to see how everybody else does and see how aggressive I need to be in order to win.”